Chapter 41: The Fallout

Mon., March 18, 2019

"You can't be serious," Anastasia cried in exasperation. She was losing her patience, but she didn't want to say anything to disrespect her Dom. "I'll be fine, Christian! I'll have both Prescott and Sawyer with me the whole day. We'll leave from your private parking garage here at Escala. We'll go straight to the parking garage next to my building, and then straight to my office."

"Anastasia, the public have access to that garage," Christian reminded her. His sharp tone made it clear that he too was losing patience. "Two dozen fucking paparazzi are already crowding the lobby of the Mile High building, even an hour before your usual TOA. That's likely to double or even triple by the time you arrive, even with guards posted to keep them out. Too many people work in that building to be able to keep out everyone who doesn't belong. Hell, no. You can't fucking go. You have to work from home today, just like I am."

"I can't work from home," Anastasia insisted. "I have meetings scheduled."

"Meet via video calls," Christian demanded.

Anastasia sighed. "We aren't in the Dom/sub zone right now. I'm sorry, but I can't obey you on this. You promised you wouldn't interfere with my work. And I REALLY need to go in today. I need to show my staff that I'm not the person the media are painting me to be. Yes, I'm a submissive, but I'm not a weak woman. I'm the CEO of Bennington Steele. How's it going to look if I don't go in? That crowd of reporters in the lobby are going to form their own conclusions. They'll say you've got me tied to your bed."

"That's actually a great idea," Christian snapped. "That's exactly where I'd have you the whole fucking day if I could get away with it."

Anastasia didn't admit that she liked that idea, too. But she did realize that if she was ever going to succeed in getting to work today without an even bigger argument, a compromise was needed. "That's exactly where I want to be… after work today. I promise to come straight home. Once I've showered, I'll braid my hair and put on whatever you want me to, and then I'll come up to the penthouse. We don't usually play during the week, but… whatever pleases you, Sir."

"If you're trying to distract me, it's… working," Christian admitted as he adjusted himself. Yeah, he was turned on, but he was also incredibly frustrated. Well, actually, he was fuming, but he knew better than to force his will upon her. He was too afraid of pushing her away. Any of his previous submissives would have been shown the door for their defiance, but not Anastasia. He couldn't risk losing her.

He told her, "I should be pissed at you for topping from the bottom, but I'm not. I'm pissed because you aren't listening. I thought you wanted 24/7 TPE. If we had that, you'd be staying your ass at home today, no questions asked. No, I don't want to interfere with your work, Anastasia; I really don't, but I want you to be safe. And I can't ensure your safety if you go out in public today."

"I am listening," she insisted. "I'm just politely disagreeing. I want 24/7 TPE in the bedroom, playroom, and Down Under, but not when it involves my professional life."

Christian scowled. "That's not how TPE works. It's called 'TOTAL power exchange' for a reason. I'm not sure it's really want you want after all. Besides, I don't understand why you can't accomplish all of the same things at home that you would in your office at Bennington Steele. Do you not spend most of Mondays just reading your editors' reports from the previous week and emailing them your feedback?"

"I have a lunch meeting with a new author," Anastasia explained. "I think it's going to be a best seller. I really can't miss it. I can't risk losing this author because I didn't show up."

"A lunch meeting where?" Christian demanded.

Anastasia sighed again. "At Bennington Steele. Catered. We'd planned to go upstairs to the Mile High Club, but now that shit's hit the fan and the media are going crazy, I won't leave my office. At all. The lunch will take place in my office."

As much as he hated it, Christian knew that he was getting nowhere. He couldn't force Anastasia to stay home, no matter how much he wanted to. He knew she'd never forgive him if he forced her to stay home and she lost that author as a result.

But shit, he knew the shitstorm she was about to walk into, and he wanted to shield her from it. And he would… as much as possible.

Anastasia delayed her arrival at work hoping that some of the paps would give up on spotting her, but the number only steadily grew throughout the day, especially when those who'd camped out at Grey House got wind that Christian Grey wasn't coming into work today. By the time Anastasia arrived at her office building, surrounded not only by Prescott and Sawyer but also half a dozen additional bodyguards, the third-floor lobby that connected to the skywalk to the parking garage was crowded with reporters. And Christian had added about a dozen security guards throughout the building, especially at all the entrances, so these were the lucky few who'd managed to get past them.

"Anastasia, did you know your boyfriend is a sadist?"

"Does he beat you, too?"

"Are you into BDSM, too?"

"Are you being abused?"

"Does he pay you for rough sex?"

"Do you like it rough?"

Those were the questions that she could make out, but there were about a dozen others yelled at the same time. She didn't answer any, and she stayed shielded by her guards as much as possible. She made her way to the elevators and got to her office as quickly as possible.

"Whew, that was intense," she breathed to Prescott, who nodded in agreement. None of her guards were happy with her. They'd all agreed with Christian about her staying home due to all the threats in the past few hours, after that video of Leila Williams being dominated by Christian went viral. Well, too fucking bad. She had a publishing house to run.

As if the reporters yelling intrusive questions at her wasn't enough, she also began to receive disturbing text messages, and a constant stream of people without appointments requesting to speak with her. The first text message freaked her out so much that she didn't hesitate to show Prescott, who was camped out inside her office today at a side table that Anastasia had cleared just for her, while Sawyer sat outside her office where Prescott usually sat. The text message was from a blocked number, and it sent chills up her spine.

Why didn't you answer the question, Princess? Admit to the world that you like it rough. I can hardly wait to get my hands on you. I like it rough, too, and you're going to be my slut. Soon.

"What the hell? I need to show this to T," Prescott responded.

"Do you think this creep was downstairs with all those reporters?" Anastasia fretted.

"It sounds like it, but he might have just seen their footage if they were live," she considered.

Within moments of Prescott alerting Taylor, and of Anastasia talking on the phone with Christian about it, Barney had already tapped into Anastasia's phone and read the message for himself. Barney was camped out at Escala, so anything he discovered, Christian discovered immediately. Therefore, a couple of hours later, when Anastasia received her next text message, Barney got it too and shared it with Christian and the other security guys.

Enjoy your freedom while you can, Princess Anastasia. I won't be as lenient with you as that worthless scumbag you currently call Master. I have no doubt you're going to tell him about this message. You can tell Baby Bird I'm coming for him, too. And his worthless bodyguards won't stop me.

"Who the hell is 'Baby Bird'?" Christian asked Barney when he shared the message with him.

Barney just shrugged. "He obviously means you. No idea why he called you that."

"Find out who it is," Christian ordered.

"Already have," Barney replied. "I just confirmed it. He was on a flight from JFK last night. It's Jack Hyde. He hasn't left the hotel today, so he must have seen the footage from her arrival. He wasn't there."

"Shit, I thought we got rid of that asshole," Christian spat.

Barney said, "I've been researching him this morning because I suspected that's who it was when she received that first message. He worked in a publishing house in New York for only two weeks after he left here. He's been off the grid since then. No work history. He lived in an apartment in Manhattan belonging to a great aunt who was in a care home, died, and left the property to him. Must have left him a healthy inheritance, too, so he didn't have to work."

A memory sparked in Christian's brain. "I thought when you researched him before… when we took over SIP, that he didn't have any family."

"None that we knew of then," Barney agreed. "His parents died in a car accident when he was a child, and there weren't any family to claim him, so he went into the foster care system. That was in Michigan state. He told people in emails and social media that the lady was his great aunt, but she might not be his real great aunt. I mean… she might have adopted him later."

Christian didn't bother to explain to Barney that in his own case, his adoptive parents were his real parents and the crack whore who gave birth to him was nothing but an egg donor who didn't protect him when he needed her. No, he'd never tell anyone about that. Except Ana. He also didn't mention that he had history with Michigan foster care, although he couldn't even remember it. He knew it had happened, and he wasn't happy at all to have that in common with that fucker Jack Hyde.

Back at Bennington Steele, Anastasia was shocked and creeped out to learn from Christian that the texts were coming from Jack Hyde. At the same time, she was relieved that security knew who it was and were keeping an eye out for him. When she didn't receive any additional creepy text messages, she hoped her day was improving.

But it wasn't. It only got more stressful as the morning passed. The requests for appointments never slowed down the entire morning. There was one lady in particular, according to Sawyer, who was communicating with the guards at the Bennington Steele entrance, who wouldn't give up. She gave them the name Carlotta Adams, which wasn't a name Anastasia recognised, and she didn't have time to deal with unscheduled appointments. Her hands were full with her own staff.

"Ana, Mandy needs to talk to you. She says it's urgent," Hannah said from her doorway at around 11:30 a.m., an hour before their scheduled lunch appointment.

Mandy Fleming was the head of her children's department, and it was one of her authors, Jessica Edmund-Rice, that they were meeting with for lunch.

"Tell her I'm free now," Anastasia replied.

A minute later, a distraught Mandy Fleming entered Anastasia's office. "She's not coming! She's dumping us!"

"What?! Why?" Anastasia cried.

"It's all these rumors about you. She thinks Bennington Steele's going to become synonymous with BDSM just because of the things the media are saying about you."

"What? That's ridiculous!" Anastasia exclaimed. Actually, it was exactly what she had feared, but for it to have been Jessica Edmund-Rice that they lost as an author really hurt. "I'll give her a call and try to work it out."

Mandy looked skeptical. "You can try, but I don't have much hope, unless of course you can clear up some of the rumors. To be honest, I'm worried, too. I mean… children's literature and BDSM don't mix. I'm beginning to doubt if I'm working in the right place."

Anastasia couldn't mask her shock. "You can't be serious, Mandy. My personal life has absolutely nothing to do with the books we publish. I'm not sure why anyone would even make that kind of connection."

"So, you admit it?" Mandy asked.

"Admit what?" Anastasia asked blankly.

"Are the rumors true?" Mandy demanded. "Are you into BDSM? Does Christian Grey do to you what it did to that woman in the video?"

Anastasia's face reddened, not so much in embarrassment, although she was embarrassed, but mostly in anger. How dare this impertinent employee demand information about her personal life!

Anastasia took a calming breath to avoid screaming at her insubordinate. In a voice not much louder than a whisper, she replied as calmly as possible, "I don't ask you questions about your personal life, and I demand the same respect. No, Mandy, I don't admit it. I don't deny it either. My personal life is none of your business or anyone else's who works here."

"It is when we have to fight a crowd of paparazzi just to get to work," Mandy responded.

"If you can't handle the pressure of working at Bennington Steele, then maybe you're correct that this isn't the place for you," Anastasia responded calmly. She didn't snap at Mandy the way she wanted to.

Mandy agreed and quit on the spot. While she was cleaning out her desk, Anastasia was on the phone with Jessica Edmund-Rice, but to no avail. The author was dead set against having Bennington Steele anywhere near her novel, and she couldn't be persuaded.

Now that lunch was cancelled, Anastasia decided to take action to try to put a stop to the awkwardness and the whispering going on all around her. She called a meeting of her entire staff and ordered in pizza for everyone.

"I called you all here because I want you all to know that as the CEO of Bennington Steele, I respect your private lives. They are just that, private, not the business of anyone here at work. It's always been important to me to have a healthy work environment, where we all respect each other, and that's what Bennington Steele has been since we started.

"I need you all to know that I expect to be given the same respect that I give you. There have been a lot of rumors going around since that video of Christian… my boyfriend… went viral, and the media are camped out downstairs trying to get a story… about me. I'm not going to give it to them. I ask all of you, please, just do your best to ignore them, and don't tell them anything about me or Bennington Steele. I hope they'll get bored and go away."

"Don't count on it," someone nearby muttered, but Anastasia ignored them.

She continued, "It's public knowledge that Christian Grey and I are in a relationship. The nature of our relationship is our own business, just as it is with any other romantic couple. It's our private lives, not something we want to talk about at work or in the tabloids. Again, I ask you, do I not respect your own private lives? Then please, respect mine, too."

More firmly, Anastasia told them, "If you want more information than that, then I only have four words for you: Mind your own business. If you prefer to believe the rumors, and to be disgusted by what you imagine my private life to be, then you're welcome to leave, just as one of your colleagues already chose to do this morning. I won't beg you to stay, nor will I write a letter of recommendation for your next employer, even though everyone sitting here today has been an exceptional employee and I don't want to see any of you go anywhere.

She finished with a forced smile, "I hope that you're all open minded enough to stick around because I mean what I said: everyone here has been exceptional. You've all worked hard to build Bennington Steele into the success story that we are today, and I hope you will continue to do so. OK, does anyone have any questions not related to my personal life?"

"Is it true that we lost Jessica Edmund-Rice?" Penny, Mandy's assistant, asked.

"Yes, unfortunately, she chose to believe the rumors in the media," Anastasia confirmed.

Penny responded, "I didn't like her manuscript that much anyway. I've got one sitting on my desk right now that's better. But Mandy was so wrapped up in Jessica that she didn't give it a second glance."

"Let's meet first thing tomorrow to discuss it," Anastasia responded. She needed to replace Mandy right away, and Penny might just be the best candidate. Anastasia needed to research her background just a bit first, though, before making that decision.

Morgan Phillips, a commissioning editor for Adult Romance called out from the back, "I don't have a question. Just want to say thanks for the pizza, and if you're happy in your personal life, that's all that matters. We can deal with the paparazzi for a few days."

Anastasia smiled genuinely for the first time during this meeting. "Thanks, Morgan. I knew I could count on you."

Morgan gave her a thumbs up. And, as it turned out, most of her employees felt pretty much the same as Morgan. Sure, they were curious, and they still whispered when they didn't think she'd notice. But they weren't so unhappy as to want to leave, like Mandy had.

Meanwhile, back at the Escala penthouse, Christian was in a meeting with his three security heads. They'd just briefed him on Jack Hyde, who'd checked into the Fairmont Olympic Hotel last night just past 10 p.m. Prescott and Sawyer had a photo of Hyde and were on the lookout just in case he decided to show up at Bennington Steele, but so far, he still hadn't left the hotel.

Now they were on the topic of Elena Lincoln. "I've got it on good authority she's going to make bail today," Welch announced.

"How can they let that witch out when it's obvious she's a menace to society?" Christian demanded angrily.

"Innocent until proven guilty and all that shit," Welch reminded him.

"Innocent, my ass," Christian shouted. "The police walked in on her molesting a kid! They've got it on fucking video!"

"I'm more concerned about her leaving town," Taylor admitted.

"She'll have to wear an ankle monitor," Welch said. "She won't be able to get anywhere near an airport. And she won't dare bring anymore kids around her house. It pisses me off that they're releasing her too, but she's going to do time. No doubt about it. And child molesters aren't treated well where she's going."

"Did Elena have a ny contact with Leila Williams while she was locked up?" Christian asked.

"Nada," Barney replied. "The last communication they had was before that manuscript even made it into Anastasia's hands."

"Still no sign of Leila?" Christian asked Barney.

"It's like she's dropped off the face of the earth," Barney answered. "She went online yesterday. You know Sundays are the one day I take off, so I missed her. But she sent some emails, put the book on Amazon, and posted that video on Youtube, and then she disappeared. She's definitely not been online since last night. I would have found her."

"How many reposts of the video have you removed today?" Christian asked, not really sure he wanted to know the answer.

Barney answered. "Fifty-two so far. I've deleted it within five minutes each time. I'm keeping track during this meeting, too."

"But people are still seeing it," Christian lamented.

"And downloading it, yes," Barney responded.

Christian sighed. "Well, at least they can't buy her fucking memoir anymore." It had been removed after about five hours thanks to Christian calling Mark Congolese, the COO of Amazon, who owed him a favor that dated back to a class they'd had together at Harvard.

"There's something else you need to be aware of," Taylor told Christian. "Someone besides Hyde who also arrived in Seattle last night."

"Someone else?" Christian asked in exasperation. "Another security threat?"

"Potentially for Ms. Steele," Taylor replied.

"Hold up," Barney alerted them. "Speaking of Ms. Steele, Hyde's just sent her another creepy text.

I'm disappointed you haven't replied yet, Princess Anastasia. I'll have to add it to your list of infractions. I'm going to enjoy your punishment so much. I've been planning it for over a year.

By the time Anastasia received the text, she was fed up. Coming to work today had been a mistake. She should have listened to Christian and worked from home. That was exactly what she was going to do for the next few days. She made arrangements with Hannah. Any meetings could take place via Skype. She packed up her laptop, where there were a dozen digital manuscripts for her to read in addition to all of her usual reports and emails, and Penelope Laurence's personnel file. If Penny was going to be a good replacement for Mandy, Anastasia would make a quick decision. She headed out with Prescott, Sawyer, and all the extra guards.

But then, just as she exited Bennington Steele and walked towards the elevator, she heard a voice she recognized.

"Anastasia, where are you going? And why have you refused to see me all day?"

Anastasia's jaw dropped open in shock. "Mom? What are you doing here?"